More Money than Sense or Just Horse Lovers?

What a lovely post Sadiemay, how lucky she was that you bought her and committed to her the way you have. Until February last year we rode out every day, often for hours at a time and the horses were very fit. When our situation changed we simply couldn't ride out and had to facilities to ride at home, the ponies that were due to be started didn't get done and we now have 13 field ornaments. We keep them because our situation is likely to change again in the next few years and I do not want to make any irreversible decisions when there will be no need if we can hang on a bit longer. OH sold 'my special boy' when we first moved to current yard to a home that I thought would be perfect and encouraged only to find that it was far from it but OH went through with the sale despite me begging him not to, I never want to be heartbroken like that again so have detached myself completely from the horses and won't ride them. I obviously still look after them when OH is working but avoid having to handle them when I can, I still love them and in a way I miss the time I used to spend with them but it is the only way I can deal with it.

The ponies are mine and will never go anywhere, I have to hang on for them because if I cannot keep them then they will be PTS as I promised them they will never go on anywhere else. They run as a herd with the horses and are happy so beyond that I don't see why anyone else should be worried whether or not they are worked and how much I spend with 13 in livery.
 
NeilM said:
That said, I have also come across many armchair / yard 'expert riders' who I have never once seen on horseback and who when watched carefully have neither the nerve nor the skill they profess to have, so maybe it's all down to BS!
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Oh gosh yes, and the ones I know wear breeches all day too, but never get in the saddle. Very very strange.

If I couldn't or wouldn't ride, I wouldn't keep fit rideable horses doing nothing, I'd spend my money on something I thought was more fun.
 
kerilli said:
If I couldn't or wouldn't ride, I wouldn't keep fit rideable horses doing nothing, I'd spend my money on something I thought was more fun.
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Perhaps the point is that for some/many owners, it is fun?

Not knocking your viewpoint, just that horse ownership is more than worthwhile & fulfilling to many, without riding as a part of it...
 
kerilli said:
Oh gosh yes, and the ones I know wear breeches all day too, but never get in the saddle. Very very strange.
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They're the ones who always manage to look clean and tidy too, aren't they? Whereas I go round with hay/straw stuck to every part of me it can stick to; mud all over, including my face where I've rubbed my dirty hands over it; green slobber all over the back of my fleece; bits of baling twine sticking out of my (semi-ripped) pockets......
 
Spudlet said:
As others have said, if the horses are healthy, happy and looked after, who cares? Although I guess it's yet another reason to look down on someone else...:rolleyes:
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Who said I was looking down on anyone - why do some people have to completely get the wrong end of the stick and then use it to poke at someone... Very strange behaviour.
 
I'm at a large livery yard (40+ horses) and the place is like a morgue at the weekends. People pop up between 8-9am in the morning to feed, muck out, turnout or just check their horse/s over, then there's a flurry of activity again at about 5pm when people come up again for the evening performance. Inbetween the place is dead. When people ride I don't know! I should add that there's a menage and great riding all round the yard, so that's not a problem or reason.

I'm backing my youngster next Spring and am actually looking for another yard where people ride so someone will be around to accompany me out when the time comes! Crazy :rolleyes:
 
Faro said:
They're the ones who always manage to look clean and tidy too, aren't they? Whereas I go round with hay/straw stuck to every part of me it can stick to; mud all over, including my face where I've rubbed my dirty hands over it; green slobber all over the back of my fleece; bits of baling twine sticking out of my (semi-ripped) pockets......
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lol thats me too...haha
 
At the end of the day, if the horse is happy then it shouldn't be a problem.
I know horses who're looked after and given everything, but are still miserable because they aren't being ridden.
Even some of our horses get arsey on the ground if they haven't been ridden for a few days or they're out with an injury.

I'm just glad people still keep horses they don't "use" instead of having the "work, work, work, win" attitude a lot of kids and younger people have :)
 
I don't ride as much as I'd like but I work full time and am often away, and when I finish work, late, I'm often too knackered, so a nice groom and cuddle is fine. Without said job I wouldn't be riding at all, because I couldn't afford my horse.

He's fine, out every day, and ridden once during the week for me by someone I trust.

I ride him at weekends and we both thoroughly enjoy a good hack out with a friend on one day and a schooling session on the other (well, I'm not sure how much he likes this one;-)) I'd prefer not to feel guilty because I'm not riding him much during the week. I don't honestly think he's that bothered.
 
A few months ago my shifts were changed at work and I started riding in the afternoons. Another girl on the yard commented to me that I was riding much more these days and that she had thought that I was not a rider. Well I had been riding my horse nearly every morning mon to fri inclusive but she was never there weekday mornings and never saw me.
 
I used to think that people who never rode were 'wasting' their horses. These days I hardly ride at all. My boy is so unfit it is difficult and boring to get him up and going again. He is 19yrs old and a really happy bunny, well looked after. I do feel guilty at times. My biggest problem is the traffic around here is so fast even on small lanes with blind bends. I would love to have someone to hack out with, I have just lost the impetous to ride. I enjoy looking after my boy as I always have, and he is with me for life.
 
What a strange post...why does it matter if people ride their horses or not?

As many have said before as long as their horses are cared for and there not asking you to pay for their hobby it's none of your business what they do with their animals.

Also, just because people don't ride also doesn't mean they spend all day with a carrot stick teaching their horses circus tricks over barrels...

Try spending some time with your horse without riding and you might see there is more to owning a horse than going around in circles in the school.
 
I was at a DIY yard once where most of the liveries seemed to be kept at pets. They were mostly rideable horses too. I guess it is up to the individual person as to what they decide to do with their horses but IMO it is a waste of a good horse to keep it doing for years on end and do nothing with it.
 
Actually not everybody who owns horses wants to ride all the time. My 2 don't get ridden all the time, but they get exercised and loved. TBH they have never demanded to be ridden, in fact I have never met a horse yet that does demand riding! They are quite happy being loved and looked after the best way for them. Don't judge people because they don't do/ think the same way as you do.

FDC
 
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